It’s a more political headline than you might expect to see in the Financial Times. But 163 leading economists have written in the normally conservative pink paper that the Labour party deserves to form the next UK government.
The notable economists argue that after “ten years of near zero productivity growth” and “public services under intolerable strain” which a “hard Brexit would only make worse,” Britain needs the “serious injection of public investment” that the Labour Party manifesto promises.
While letters attacking the opposition party seem to make more front pages during this election campaign, the letter from leading academics from different institutions is a powerful read. And an urgent outline of the very different economic outcomes for the country, depending who wins the December 12 election.
The 163 economists from top institutions write that after a close examination of the political parties’ election manifestos, it “seems clear to us that the Labour Party has not only understood the deep problems we face, but has devised serious proposals for dealing with them.”
The intervention comes as a new report by the Resolution Foundation think tank warns that “under Conservative plans child poverty risks reaching a 60-year high of 34%,” while Labour social security plans would cut children in poverty by over half a million.
The unreserved backing of Labour’s manifesto pledges by the top economists is a massive boon for Jeremy Corbyn and shadow chancellor John McDonnell and illustrates the stark difference in Britain’s future under the Tories or a Labour-led government. The full letter and list of academics who have written to the Financial Times can be found here.
In a blistering analysis of the different approaches to Britain’s economy, prosperity and people’s livelihoods, they write: “We have had ten years of near zero productivity growth. Corporate investment has stagnated. Average earnings are still lower than in 2008. A gulf has arisen between London and the South East and the rest of the country. And public services are under intolerable strain – which the economic costs of a hard Brexit would only make worse. We now moreover face the urgent imperative of acting on the climate and environmental crisis.
“Given private sector reluctance, what the UK economy needs is a serious injection of public investment, which can in turn leverage private finance attracted by the expectation of higher demand. Such investment needs to be directed into the large-scale and rapid decarbonisation of energy, transport, housing, industry and farming; the support of innovation- and export- oriented businesses; and public services. It is clear that this will require an active and green industrial strategy, aimed at improving productivity and spreading investment across the country.
“Experience elsewhere (not least in Germany) suggests a National Investment Bank would greatly help. With long-term real interest rates now negative, it makes basic economic sense for the government to borrow for this, spreading the cost over the generations who will benefit from the assets. As the IMF has acknowledged, when interest payments are low and investment raises economic growth, public debt is sustainable.
“At the same time, we need a serious attempt to raise wages and productivity. A higher minimum wage can help do this, alongside tighter regulation of the worst practices in the gig economy. Bringing workers onto company boards and giving them a stake in their companies, as most European countries do in some form, will also help. The UK’s outlier rate of corporation tax can clearly be raised, not least for the highly profitable digital companies.”
The leading lights of economics, conclude that the Labour Party “deserves to form the next government.”
A list of the signatories can be found below :
David G. Blanchflower
Bruce V. Rauner Professor of Economics, Dartmouth College; Professor of Economics. University of Stirling; former member of the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee
Victoria Chick
Emeritus Professor of Economics, University College London
Lord Meghnad Desai
Emeritus Professor of Economics, London School of Economics and Political Science
Stephany Griffith-Jones
Emeritus Professorial Fellow, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex; Financial Markets Director, Initiative for Policy Dialogue, Columbia University
Simon Wren-Lewis
Emeritus Professor of Economics and Fellow of Merton College, University of Oxford
Jonathan Aldred
Director of Studies in Economics, Emmanuel College, and Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge
Tanweer Ali
Lecturer, Empire State College, State University of New York
Patrick Allen
Chair, Progressive Economy Forum
Carolina Alves
Joan Robinson Research Fellow in Heterodox Economics, Faculty of Economics and Girton College, University of Cambridge
Antonio Andreoni
Senior Lecturer in Economics, SOAS, University of London
Shawky Arif
Senior Lecturer in International Development, University of Northampton
Joseph Baines
Lecturer of International Political Economy, King’s College London
Kate Bayliss
Senior Research Fellow, SOAS, University of London
Hannah Bargawi
Senior Lecturer and co-Head of Department of Economics, SOAS University of London
Adotey Bing-Pappoe
Senior Lecturer in Economics, Greenwich University
Peter Bloom
Professor of Management, Essex Business School, University of Essex
Bruno Bonizzi
Senior Lecturer, University of Hertfordshire, Hertfordshire Business School
Dr Alberto Botta
Senior Lecturer in Economics, University of Greenwich
Andrew Brown
Professor of Economics and Political Economy, University of Leeds
Mark Bryan
Reader in Economics, University of Sheffield
Mike Bull
Reader in Social Enterprise, Manchester Metropolitan University
Jonathan Busch
Research Fellow in Ecological Economics, University of Leeds
Terry Byres
Professor Emeritus of Political Economy, SOAS, University of London
Robert Calvert Jump
Research Fellow, University of Greenwich
Ha-Joon Chang
Reader, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge
John Christensen
Director, Tax Justice Network
David Cobham
Professor of Economics, Heriot-Watt University
Christine Cooper
Professor of Accounting, University of Edinburgh
Christopher Cramer
Professor of the Political Economy of Development, SOAS, University of London
Bruce Cronin
Professor of Economic Sociology, University of Greenwich
Andrew Cumbers
Professor of Regional Political Economy, University of Glasgow
Yannis Dafermos
Lecturer in Economics, SOAS University of London
Hulya Dagdeviren
Professor of Economic Development, University of Hertfordshire
William Davies
Professor in Political Economy, Goldsmiths, University of London
Jerome De Henau
Senior Lecturer in Economics, Open University
Jonathan Di John
Senior Lecturer, Political Economy of Development, SOAS, University of London
Danny Dorling
Halford Mackinder Professor of Geography, University of Oxford
Gary Dymski
Professor of Applied Economics, University of Leeds
Ciaran Driver
Professor of Economics, School of Finance and Management, SOAS, University of London
Trevor Evans
Emeritus Professor of Economics, Berlin School of Economics and Law
Andrew Fanning
Marie Curie Research Fellow, Sustainability Research Institute, University of Leeds
Ben Fine
Emeritus Professor, School of Oriental and African Studies, London
Felix FitzRoy
Emeritus Professor of Economics, School of Economics and Finance, University of St. Andrews; Research Fellow, IZA, Bonn
Guglielmo Forges Davanzati
Professor of Political Economy, University of Salento and Department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge
Carlos Fortin
Emeritus Fellow and Research Associate, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex
Vasileios Fouskas
Professor of International Politics and Economics, University of East London
Daniela Gabor
Professor of Economics and Macro-Finance, University of the West of England Bristol
Giorgos Galanis
Senior Lecturer in Economics, Goldsmiths, University of London
Sara Gorgoni
Associate Professor in Economics, University of Greenwich
Ian Gough
Visiting Professor in the Centre for Social Exclusion, London School of Economics
Giorgos Gouzoulis
Research Fellow, University College London
John Grahl
Emeritus Professor of Economics, Middlesex University
Martin Greeley
Fellow, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex
Alexander Guschanski
Lecturer in Economics, University of Greenwich
Hassan Hakimian
Emeritus Professor of Economics, SOAS, London
Barbara Harriss-White
Emeritus Professor, Wolfson College, Oxford
Jostein Hauge
Research Associate at the Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge
Judith Heyer
Emeritus Fellow, Somerville College, Oxford
Ariane Hillig
Lecturer in Economics, Goldsmiths, University of London
Susan Himmelweit
Emeritus Professor of Economics, Open University
Peter Holmes
Reader in Economics, University of Sussex
Peter Howells
Emeritus Professor of Monetary Economics, UWE Bristol
Leslie Huckfield
Lecturer, Glasgow School for Business and Society, Glasgow Caledonian University
Tim Jackson
Professor of Sustainable Development, University of Surrey
Michael Jacobs
Professorial Fellow, Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute, University of Sheffield
Sir Richard Jolly
Emeritus Professor, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex
Emily Jones
Associate Professor in Public Policy, Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford
Annina Kaltenbrunner
Associate Professor in the Economics of Globalisation and the International Economy, University of Leeds
Raphael Kaplinsky
Emeritus Professorial Fellow, Institute of Development Studies, and Honorary Professor, Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex
Ewa Karwowski
Senior Lecturer in Economics, University of Hertfordshire
Steve Keen
Honorary Professor, University College London
Effie Kesidou
Associate Professor in Applied Economics, University of Leeds
Mushtaq Khan
Professor of Economics, SOAS, University of London
Andy Kilmister
Senior Lecturer in Economics, Oxford Brookes University
Suzanne J Konzelmann
Reader in Management, Birkbeck, University of London
Sunil Mitra Kumar
Lecturer in Economics, King’s College London
Ingrid Harvold Kvangraven
Lecturer in International Development, University of York
Neil Lancastle
Senior Lecturer, Accounting and Finance, De Montfort University
Stewart Lansley
Visiting Fellow, University of Bristol
Costas Lapavitsas
Professor of Economics, SOAS, University of London
Clive Lawson
Director of Studies in Economics, Girton College Cambridge
Jane Lethbridge
Principal Lecturer, Business Faculty, University of Greenwich
Merle Lipton
Visiting Research Fellow at King’s College London
Emanuele Lobina
Principal Lecturer, Public Services International Research Unit, University of Greenwich
Michael Lipton
Emeritus Professor of Economics, Sussex University
Lorena Lombardozzi
Lecturer in Economics, The Open University
Pedro Mendes Loureiro
Lecturer in Latin American Studies, University of Cambridge
Terry McKinley
Professor of Development Studies, SOAS, University of London
Laurie Macfarlane
Head of Patient Finance, UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose
Maureen Mackintosh
Professor of Economics, The Open University
Julia Martin-Ortegqa
Professor of Ecological Economics, University of Leeds, UK
Paul Mason
Visiting Professor of Economics, Wolverhampton University
Imko Meyenburg
Senior Lecturer in Economics and International Business, Anglia Ruskin University
Jo Michell
Associate Professor of Economics, University of the West of England Bristol
Jonathan Michie
Professor of Innovation and Knowledge Exchange, University of Oxford
Johnna Montgomerie
Reader in International Political Economy and Head of Department, European and International Studies, King’s College London
Simon Mohun
Emeritus Professor of Political Economy, Queen Mary University of London
Richard Murphy
Professor of Practice in International Political Economy, City, University of London
Bona Muzaka
Reader in International Political Economy, King’s College London
Natalya Naqvi
Assistant Professor in International Political Economy, London School of Economics
Susan Newman
Associate Professor in Economics, University of the West of England
Maria Nikolaidi
Senior Lecturer in Economics, University of Greenwich
Dan O’Neill
Associate Professor in Ecological Economics, University of Leeds
Ozlem Onaran
Professor of Economics, University of Greenwich
Christine Oughton
Professor of Management Economics, SOAS, University of London
Carlos Oya
Professor of Political Economy of Development, SOAS, University of London
Cem Oyvat
Senior Lecturer in Economics, University of Greenwich
José Gabriel Palma
Emeritus Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Economics, Cambridge University
John Palmer
Former Political Director, European Policy Centre, Brussels
Alberto Paloni
Senior Lecturer in Economics, University of Glasgow
Marco Veronese Passarella
Lecturer of Economics, University of Leeds
Jonathan Perraton
Senior Lecturer in Economics, University of Sheffield
Avinash Persaud
Emeritus Professor, Gresham College; former senior banker, J.P.Morgan and State Street
Ann Pettifor
Director, Policy Research in Macroeconomics (PRIME)
Valentino Piana
Director of the Economics Web Institute
Kate Pickett
Professor of Epidemiology, Deputy Director of the Centre for Future Health, University of York
Jeff Powell
Senior Lecturer in Economics, University of Greenwich
Kate Raworth
Senior Associate, Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford
Hugo Radice
Life Fellow, School of Politics and International Studies, University of Leeds
Howard Reed
Director, Landman Economics
Matteo Rizzo
Senior Lecturer in Development Studies, SOAS, University of London
Pallavi Roy
Lecturer in International Economics, SOAS University of London
Shampa Roy-Mukherjee
Senior Lecturer in Economics, University of East London
Josh Ryan-Collins
Head of Research, Institute for Innovation and Public Policy, University College London
Magnus Ryner
Professor of International Political Economy, King’s College London
Alfredo Saad Filho
Professor of Political Economy and International Development, King’s College London
Diego Sanchez-Ancochea
Professor of the Political Economy of Development, University of Oxford
Malcolm Sawyer
Emeritus Professor of Economics, University of Leeds
Gregor Semieniuk
Lecturer in Economics, SOAS, University of London; Research Assistant Professor in Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Marianne Sensier
Research Fellow in Economics, University of Manchester
Mimoza Shabani
Senior Lecturer in Financial Economics, University of East London
Alan Shipman
Lecturer in Economics, Open University
Kalim Siddiqui
Senior Lecturer in International Political Economy, University of Huddersfield
Prem Sikka
Professor of Accounting and Finance, University of Sheffield
Andrew Simms
Co-director, New Weather Institute; Research Associate, Centre for Global Political Economy, University of Sussex
Pritam Singh
Visiting Scholar, Wolfson College, University of Oxford
Alan Southern
University of Liverpool Management School
Guy Standing
Professorial Research Associate, SOAS, University of London
Julia Steinberger
Professor of Social Ecology and Ecological Economics, University of Leeds
Sara Stevano
Postdoctoral Research Associate, European and International Studies, King’s College London
Frances Stewart
Emeritus Professor of Development Economics, University of Oxford
Engelbert Stockhammer
Professor of International Political Economy, King’s College London
Beth Stratford
Fellow at the New Economics Foundation
Hanna Szymborska, Lecturer in Economics, Open University
Jeff Tan
Associate Professor in Political Economy, Aga Khan University, UK
Paul Temple
Reader in Economics, University of Surrey
Geoff Tily
Senior Economist, Trades Union Congress
Jan Toporowski
Professor of Economics and Finance, SOAS University of London
Daniele Tori
Lecturer in Finance, Open University Business School
Mehmet Ugur
Professor of Economics and Institutions, University of Greenwich
Elvira Uyarra
Reader in Innovation Management and Policy, University of Manchester
Elisa Van Waeyenberge
Senior Lecturer and Co-Head of Department of Economics, SOAS University of London
Roberto Veneziani
Professor of Economics, Queen Mary University of London
Ragupathy Venkatachalam
Lecturer in Economics, Goldsmiths, University of London
Bhaskar Vira
Professor of Political Economy and Head of Department of Geography, University of Cambridge
Robert H. Wade
Professor of Global Political Economy, London School of Economics and Political Science
Geoff Whittam
Reader Glasgow School for Business and Society, Glasgow Caledonian University
John Weeks
Professor Emeritus of Development Economics, SOAS University of London
Rafael Wildauer
Lecturer in Economics, University of Greenwich
Richard Wilkinson
Professor Emeritus of Social Epidemiology, University of Nottingham.
Christina Wolf
Senior Lecturer in Economics, Kingston University
Adrian Wood
Emeritus Professor of International Development, University of Oxford
Yuliya Yurchenko
Senior Lecturer in Political Economy, University of Greenwich, UK
